We Dined Like Sultans Inside An Ottoman Palace In Istanbul

The Ciragan Palace, on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, has undergone many transformations. It was first built as a waterfront villa by Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha in 1719 as a way to escape the stifling summer heat of the city. Throughout the 1800s, several sultans built and rebuilt the palace to their own tastes. In 1909, the palace became the Turkish parliament building, but just one year later it was destroyed by fire.

After that point, the Ciragan Palace sat neglected for years, mis-used as military barracks by the French and as a soccer field by the Besiktas Football team.

But some time in the mid-1900s, the Turkish government began to take back and restore its historic sites, including the Ciragan Palace. Restoration work on the once-glorious palace began in the 1980s, and in 1991, the palace re-opened its doors as a luxurious hotel, the Ciragan Palace Kempinski, managed by the high-end Kempinski hotel brand.

Today, the hotel consists of the historic palace (home to 11 opulent suites and a fine-dining restaurant, Tugra) and an adjoining modern hotel. You can actually sleep in the old palace—if you can afford the price tag of several thousand euros per night. If not, though, you can still enjoy the palace by visiting for a meal in the award-winning Tugra restaurant.

I recently visited Istanbul and dined in the Tugra restaurant, and it proved to be one of the most memorable meals of my life. Tugra, which is the name of the calligraphic seal of the Ottoman sultans, is an homage to the Ottoman era. Here the chefs dig up recipes and dishes that the sultans once enjoyed, and serve them to modern diners in a historic palace setting.

The restaurant takes advantage of fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, such as wild herbs from the Aegean mountains; black cabbage and corn flour from the Black Sea; lamb and dried beans from Middle Anatolia; free range cattle from East Anatolia; and fresh fish from the Bosphorus to recreate the delicious Ottoman-era dishes.